Impresario Harold Davison dies

Brought Sinatra to Europe, Rolling Stones to U.S.

Harold Davison, the music impresario who introduced Frank Sinatra to European audiences and helped bring British rock to America, died Oct. 11 of congestive heart failure in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 89.

The London-born Davison was a talent agent, manager, producer and executive during a career that began at the end of WWII. He was the first to book concerts in England and continental Europe by Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and Bing Crosby.

When rock ‘n’ roll hit the scene, Davison was a strategist for the British Invasion, launching acts such as the Rolling Stones and the Dave Clark Five in the U.S.

His publicist, Danielle Marie Owens, says Davison also played a key role in the merger of EMI and Capitol Records.

Davison was married to British singer and television star Marion Ryan until her death in 1999. He is survived by three children and several grandchildren.